A sponsored film by Turners Film Productions for Swan Hunters recording the launch of the tanker Joseph R. Smallwood from the Swan Hunter shipyard in Hebburn on the 11th July 1972. The ship sailed under a variety of names including “Afghanistan”, “Newburn”, “Aquarius”, “Ascot”, “Polare”, and “Monte Chiaro”, before being broken up in 2000. Title: Launch of M.S. Joseph R. Smallwood 11th July 1972 Title: Sponsor Mrs. Homer White Title: Owners Nile Steamship Company Limited Title: Builders Swan...

A sponsored film by Turners Film Productions for Swan Hunters recording the launch of the tanker Joseph R. Smallwood from the Swan Hunter shipyard in Hebburn on the 11th July 1972. The ship sailed under a variety of names including “Afghanistan”, “Newburn”, “Aquarius”, “Ascot”, “Polare”, and “Monte Chiaro”, before being broken up in 2000. Title: Launch of M.S. Joseph R. Smallwood 11th July 1972 Title: Sponsor Mrs. Homer White Title: Owners Nile Steamship Company Limited Title: Builders Swan Hunter Shipbuilders Limited The film begins with a panoramic view of the hull of the Joseph R. Smallwood, a steel girder framework erected around the ship. Three cranes stand in a line alongside the ship. The view pans towards the bow of the ship where the ship’s name can be read. Flags fly on a line running horizontally above the gunwale. Close-up view of the ship’s name painted on the bow. The small dark silhouettes of shipyard workers can be seen high up on the ship. View of the propeller at the stern of the ship, completely out of the water. Down on the dockside, the Seaburn Sea Cadets Corps (Seaburn SCC) band of drummers plays. Dignitaries walk towards the launching ceremony platform along an aisle lined by cadets standing to attention. Mrs Homer White is presented with a bouquet of flowers; she then leads the dignitaries up the stairs to the launching ceremony platform. Mrs Homer White makes a short speech, then pulls a lever to launch the ship, which catapults a bottle of Champagne at the ship’s hull. The bottle doesn’t break, and two men frantically reset the catapult arm and force the bottle against the ship to smash it; then the ship begins to slide down the launch ramp. Views of the ship slipping down the launch runway. Low angle shot of the bow of the ship, panning upwards. View of the propeller submerging. A crowd stands on the launch slipway, watching the ship slide into the River Tyne. Portrait shots record the expressions of the dignitaries watching the launch. View of the massive Joseph R. Smallwood tanker floating in the middle of the river. Tug boats approach the ship. Back on the launching ceremony platform, the dignitaries perform three cheers for the ship, thrusting their hats into the air. Portrait of a 16mm film camera operator, filming the event. View of the empty slipway. Dignitaries mill about on the launching platform, all very smartly dressed. This is followed by a view of the launching platform itself, a Union Flag hanging limp from one of the four flagpoles. Mrs Home White leaves the platform area and has a brief conversation with a Royal Navy officer. View of the cadets and their band lining the pathway from the launching platform; dignitaries descend and depart. The band marches past. The film ends with some final views of the empty shipyard slipway, and then the Joseph R. Smallwood floating on the river. Title: Filmed by Tuners Film Productions Newcastle Upon Tyne - England